Monster
by emeralddusk
Summary: Lives change on Dias de la Muertos. For WindRush's Seddie Halloween challenge.


iCarly

Monster

Freddie and Sam pressed their lips together in a loving embrace. The young man slowly but firmly stroked down his lover's long, thick, heavenly, blond hair. Lightly squeezing her boyfriend's back, Samantha took in breath, keeping her eyes closed in this wondrous embrace.

Marching through the forest in the heart of night, hiding each of his breaths only to save his and Carly's life, Freddie realized how distant those happy moments were now. The air was freezing, and so unfamiliar. Nothing was how it was supposed to be. "I think I heard something over there," Carly declared, losing her composure as she pointed into the dark forest.

"My gosh," Freddie replied, watching a hideous figure stagger out of the brush. Suddenly, the creature collapsed right in front of the teens, causing them to leap back. Coming back to her senses, Carly knelt down, and observed the beast. "What is it?"

"It's a cow," the young woman answered, sounding sad. "It's been attacked...look, there's puncture marks on its neck..." Carly felt the poor creature's throat and chest. "...It's dying...I think it's lost alot of blood." The wounds were clearly intended to drain the victim, speeding up its death, but not causing it...

"...Is this thing a vampire, too?" Freddie snapped, raising his voice.

"Be quiet!" Carly screamed with a hushed tone. With that, the wounded creature let out an agonized cry, and dropped onto the ground, lifeless. Both of the teens felt their hearts skip massive beats. "That things gotta be in here somewhere...Come on."

Screeching loudly along the runway, the airplane touched down in Sinaloa, Mexico. Sam opened her eyes, and sat up straight in her seat, recovering from her brief nap. Next to her, Freddie looked straight ahead, feelings the jolt of the plane landing. Carly was typing on her computer at the time.

"I can't believe we're missing Halloween," Samantha complained, wiping tired moisture from her eyes. "There'd better be candy on Day of the Dead."

"There is," Freddie gently answered. "All kinds."

"For your sake, I hope so," the blond jokingly replied.

"It figures your anniversary would fall on one of the scariest days of the year," Carly threw in, closing her laptop. The couple giggled to themselves.

_November first to second, usually considered the very unscary aftermath of Halloween. But here in Mexico, these days are a celebration of late ancestors; a time when families sit down and have a meal among their deceased loved ones. It can seem like it's a dark celebration, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. That's what I thought...until things started to go wrong._

Carly, Sam, and Freddie were sharing a suite for their holiday; Sam and Carly were sharing the main bedroom, while Freddie slept in a guest room. Having pooled their money together, the teens were enjoying their first "friends" vacation. That night, the city was dark and brimming with the mystery of the unknown. Sam was sitting on the couch, flipping between dubs of The Amanda Show and wrestling. Suddenly, something caught her eye. "Hey, Carls," she called, looking back at the ceiling. "Check this out!"

Opening the bathroom door, the brunette entered the living room, clad in a robe with a towel delicately wrapped around her wet hair. "What's up?" she asked, going over by the couch. Carly looked at the television screen, and saw some grizzly images of dead livestock. "Gross."

"I know," Sam replied. "They mentioned the chupacabra...that thing's nasty."

"If it even exists," Carly answered. "What's it even supposed to look like?"

"Like a coyote or a big rat or something," Sam explained. "Even if it doesn't exist, something's going on a killing spree."

Carly leaned against the piece of furniture. "...Hey, look at the text on the bottom of the screen. I know it's Spanish, but I can make out some of it...it says they've had some sightings."

"So what else is new?" the blond unenthusiastically replied. "They always make reports about people seeing things. Last time, it was a sick dog."

"I'm not sure," Carly said, sounding uneasy.

Sam found herself walking around the city one afternoon. Freddie and Carly were busy with something (leave it to them to have plans on a Seddie getaway). Over the horizon, the sun was setting, and the world was growing dark. Despite her friend's warning, the blond had decided to go out close to nightfall. _Carly worries too much, _Sam said to herself. Before she knew it, the young woman had left the town, and was slowly becoming engulfed by trees and brush. "Nuts," Sam exclaimed, looking around. Feeling lost, the teen forced herself to remain calm, and turned around. However, nothing looked familiar, and light was fading.

Some twigs crackled, causing Sam to shoot her head back. Seeing nothing in the entire area, the girl continued on her way back to town. It didn't take long for the sky to become black. Back in the city, lights were strung from every building and statue. However, in the woods, even the stars were faded. Crunching over dead, crisp leaves, Sam began subconsciously counting her steps. Out of darkness, new sets of steps began to appear, shocking the girl. "Who's there?" she cried out, looking around to the beat of her raging heart.

Nothing answered. Feeling her blood freeze up in her veins like liquid nitrogen, Sam turned her walk into a hearty jog, slowly losing her composure. A loud snarling sound completely ripped through the girl's heart, causing her to totally down in fear. Charging wildly, feeling tears begin to form in her eyes, Samantha ran for everything in her life; never intending to stop running. However, the footsteps behind her were vicious, and so close they hurt. "Please, help me!" the teenager cried out, feeling reduced to a scared child. Then, all horror imaginable broke into the world; something lunged onto Sam, forcing her flat on her stomach in a brutal fall. The girl screamed in terror, not able to feel the pain in her ribs and leg. Shutting her eyes tightly, Sam struggled to throw it off of her; the largest, most hideous of all tiny, numerous bugs. The most ugly of all creatures swimming with her in a giant pool. Finally, she began openly crying, swinging her hands wildly behind her. "Get off! Get off! Get off!" she screamed at a pitch higher than her body was naturally capable of.

Then, without warning, a freezing bite sank into her upper back, and ended the scene. Endowed with pure agony, Sam threw all of her weight back into the beast, possibly knocking it off, then sprinted into the night, leaving the monster behind. Snarling, the creature gazed at its prey with large, piercing, glowing red eyes, then scurried away into the brush. Flowing with fear-induced strength, the girl kept running. At long lost, she was among the massive buildings and people again. Everyone she saw, though, seemed afraid. "Please," she begged, running up to random strangers on the street. "Help me! Please...something bit me, I need help. It hurts! Please, someone help me!" Everything was starting to ache now; the strength was gone, and Sam's body was suffering. Groaning in pain, the blond took several steps forward, and fell to her knees, breaking her fall with the palm of her hands. The sidewalk was cold and rough, but its impact was starting to fade. "I'm sick, I'm hurt...somebody please!..." Sam felt her back start to tear and rend itself apart. Digging her nails into the grainy cement, the teenager tightly shut her eyes and clenched her teeth until they started to crack.

The dry, almost raw skin around them starting to bleed, Sam's nails began to grow and sharped, becoming jagged and claw-like. Large, curved spines tore from the flesh of her back, leaving thin, slimy streams of blood wrapped around them. Her teeth growing into jagged, spiny fangs, Sam felt herself slip into an agonizing slumber. Long, curled blond locks matted and turned into rough, coarse brown fur. Sam let out a vicious, crackling scream, which turned into a snarl, then turned to face her prey with glowing red eyes. _El Chupacabra!_

"She's been out all night," Carly exclaimed, pacing around the room, as she had since she woke up. "Something happened to her..."

"Maybe she got tired and...decided to stay at another hotel," Freddie responded, trying to rationalize the situation.

"She doesn't have enough money!" the brunette snapped. "And we don't speak Spanish...no one's gonna be able to help her!"

"...It's all my fault," Freddie declared. "I could've talked her out of going out, or had her call us, or..."

"It's not your fault," Carly commanded of the boy. "You couldn't have stopped her no matter how hard you tried...look, we can try to call the police, find a tourist line to translate for us, or..." Thunderous clambering came from the door; someone or something was trying to force it open. Carly and Freddie charged over and looked through the peep hole. Seeing a familiar face, the young woman tore the door open. "Sam, what..."

Looking extremely hazed and distraught, Sam stumbled straight into the room, wearing scratches and cuts, mud, and some dried blood. She was almost completely naked except for some rags, and her hair was grizzly and undone. "What happened to you?" Freddie cried, feeling her pain all over his body. "Did someone attack you?" Sam gave out on the couch, staring at the ceiling. Then, she slipped into sleep; relief from the pain and confusion.

"I turned into something last night," the blond managed to croak out when she finally came to. "Something attacked me, then...I just lost it."

"What?" Carly cried. "What was it? Did it have rabies?"

"It was some kind of monster," Sam answered, barely aware of what her friend was saying to her. "...I feel horrible. I feel dirty and evil...I'm that monster."

"That's crazy," Freddie exclaimed. "Look at you, something attacked you. You did whatever it took to get away. Anyone would've..."

"El Chupacabra," the man on the television exclaimed. Among the Spanish declaration she couldn't understand, Carly managed to recognize the words for 5 and death. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one.

"My gosh," Sam spat out, feeling her pulse spike. "...That's me. I killed those people...oh my gosh!"

"Please, please calm down," Freddie pleaded. In the end, it all failed. Sam was upset for most of the day. Then, as the sun began to set, she became frantic.

"You guys need to get away," Sam exclaimed. "I...I feel like I'm starting to change."

"Sam, there's nothing wrong with you," Carly replied. "You're just sick. We can take you to a doctor." Sam doubled over in pain, then felt herself begin to change. Charging out the door, Sam let out a vicious snarl, which turned into a roar.

"My gosh," Carly exclaimed.

Freddie and Carly walked into the forest, searching through the brush and trees. The snarling sounded once again, causing the two to jump back. "There's no way we can stop that thing," Carly said, feeling her breath jolt.

"We've gotta try," Freddie exclaimed. "She wouldn't give up on us."

"That's not what I'm saying," Carly whispered. Suddenly, the beast lunged out of its hiding place, revealing its vicious, terrifying image; a large, possibly muscled monster with an extended jaw, like that of a wolf. Dripping with hot, steaming saliva, the animal showed its fangs, which were stained with blood. Spines jetted out into the night's sky on the beast's back, and its claws were dug into the grass and dirt in front of it. Letting out a cry that sounded like that of a hungry infant, the monster charged forward at the teenagers.

"Sam, stop!" Freddie cried out, running directly at the massive creature, even as it ran at him with all its might. Snarling and screaming, the chupacabra swung its claws directly at Freddie, knocking him into the air, smashing onto the ground on his back.

"Sam, no!" Carly hollered. "It's us! We're your friends!"

"Sam, I love you!" the brunette boy cried out, feeling his eyes burning with tears. "Please...this isn't you! You have to stop!" Chupacabra roared under its breath, leaning down to Freddie's level. Flaring its nostrils, the beast gritted its teeth and snarled. Feeling the hot, stinging breath on his face, the young man's heart skipped a beat; fear w as starting to swallow him. Throwing open her jaw and flailing its tongue out into Freddie's face, stroking it over his skin with a sandpaper texture.

Its hunger burning until it felt sick, the chupacabra felt great fury towards the two humans before it, but had a desire to fight it. "You know I love you," Freddie pleaded. "I've always loved you...ever since we were kids. When you kissed me the first time...I felt like I'd never be able to be without you...and now...we're finally together...and you're the one I wanna die with..." Its grunts and snarls turning into a dog-like whimper, the monster began to close its jaw around Freddie, then pulled back in shame.

"You know who you are...you're not a monster," Carly added, walking closer to her best friend. "And no one can make you one."

_They say El Chupacabra looms in darkness...dwelling in hatred, mystery, and shadows. It does everything in its power to save itself, even though it has nothing to live for. All it wants is to feed, and make others like it so it won't be alone in the world...but in the end, it always is. When it was first seen, the beast was feeding on helpless goats, and was identified as all it ever was; El Chupacabra, the goat-eater. In the end, Sam won the war, but she wasn't alone..._

"What's the surprise?" Sam asked, trying to see through the blindfold over her face. Carly and Freddie walked the young woman into the room. "It's a secret, Sam," Carly answered. "Enjoy, you guys." With that, the brunette departed, leaving Sam and Freddie alone together.

"Okay," the young man said, taking his lover's hands. "I know you're upset about missing Halloween, and you've had a horrible time...but I promise I'll make it up to you."

"Can I take off the blindfold first?" Sam giggled. "Sure," Freddie answered, laughing at himself. The blond took off the red bandanna, and looked around her. "Wow," she said, gazing at the amazing Mexican decorations in the dark room; the skulls, lights, assorted candy.

"Since we've all lost people in our lives...but the two of us are together," Freddie began, sounding nervous. "So...since it's the Day of the Dead, wanna celebrate a meal with our dead relatives?"

"...That sounds nice," Sam answered, taking a seat on the floor with her lover in the cemetary. The two began snacking on candy skulls, and other decative treats, enjoying one another more than anything else in the world. Finally, the two kissed, knowing nothing could hold them apart...Not even the darkness around them.


End file.
